Panned people-rating app pivots to pointlessness

Star ratings for strangers unpopular with internet.

When an app emerged on September 30 that promised to let users give anyone they knew a publicly visible star rating that was extremely difficult to dispute or have removed, it was widely condemned by everyone from TV personalities to internet users.

“Imagine every interaction you’ve ever had suddenly open to the scrutiny of the internet public,” the Post said, branding the app as “terrifying”.

It was the beginning of a major backlash as Peeple quickly made a name for itself as the year’s most despised social media entrant, before the app even went live. It was even satirised heavily by HBO’s Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.

“You will NOT be on our platform without your explicit permission,” Cordray said.

The old version of the app had a safeguard of sorts against extremely negative reviews.

“When another user makes a negative comment about you (2 stars or less) the comment does not go live right away. It goes into your inbox on the app, you will be notified, and now you have 48 hours timer to work it out with the user,” Peeple’s FAQ said.

“If you cannot turn a negative into a positive the comment will go live and then you can publicly defend yourself” – on the app."

But this has also now changed.

“There is no 48 hour waiting period to remove negative comments,” Cordray said. “There is no way to even make negative comments.

“Simply stated, if you don’t explicitly say ‘approve recommendation’, it will not be visible on our platform.”